Wrexham

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Phil Parkinson believes Middlesbrough's summer transfer business so far shows Kim Hellberg's side are intent on being as competitive as possible this season.

Boro narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League after losing 1-0 to Hull City in the Championship play-off final at Wembley in May.

Hayden Hackney, last season's English Football League Championship player of the season, was sold to Everton for a base fee of at least £16m.

Boro are also expected to bank at least £20.4m for Morgan Rogers' switch from Aston Villa to Chelsea as a result of a sell-on clause they had following his move to Villa Park in 2024.

They have heavily reinvested in their squad as Hellberg (pictured above) prepares for his first full season at the club, with Jeremy Sarmiento, Myles Peart-Harris, Kyle Joseph, Will Lankshear, Sebastian Berhalter and Max Arfsten among those to make the move to Boro this summer.

"They've spent quite a bit, but obviously they've brought a lot in for Hackney and they've got a sell-on clause as well for Rogers, so they've brought in money," said Parkinson.

"But obviously they're looking to spend it and make themselves competitive again.

"I think they're like us. They know the demands of the division and they're trying to create a squad to be competitive like we are."

The duo meet at Riverside Stadium in the opening round of the EFL Cup tonight (20:00 BST).

Wrexham drew 1-1 with Middlesbrough in the first meeting between the sides in the past season.

The reverse fixture at the Racecourse Ground on the final day of the regular season also finished level, a 2-2 draw ending the Red Dragons' play-off hopes.

Midfielder George Thomason - a regular at left wing-back last season - believes his side have already demonstrated they are more than a match for Boro.

"We know they're a very possession-based team, so we're under no illusions that it's going to be a tough game," said the 25-year-old.

"They're still going to want to get into their rhythm and flow, but we know we matched them both home and away last year, they were both really tight games.

"So I expect it to be another one and we'll go out there, do our best to win and give them a good game."

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Josh Windass and Ben Sheaf are unavailable for Wrexham's Carabao Cup first round encounter with Middlesbrough at Riverside Stadium on Friday night (20:00 BST).

Forward Windass - who netted 17 goals across all competitions in his debut campaign with the Red Dragons last term - did not feature in any of Wrexham's pre-season friendlies due to a calf issue.

Midfielder Sheaf was also a notable absentee for his side's summer fixtures against Wisla Krakow, Manchester United, Leeds United, Liverpool and Sunderland.

"Josh is still not where he needs to be yet, which is frustrating for us," said manager Phil Parkinson.

"Sheafo is making decent progress.

"(We have) One or two other little niggles from the Sunderland game, we've just had to take a couple of people out of training.

"I think that's just an accumulation of the travelling and playing in very hot conditions, so there's a couple of things we've just got to monitor in the next seven days or so, but nothing serious."

Summer signings Danny Imray and Ben Whiteman are in contention to feature against Kim Hellberg's side in the north east of England.

"They're both travelling," Parkinson said of the new recruits.

"The selection for this game, a lot of factors are going to come into play in terms of who's recovered the best out of the group and who the sports science and medical team feel are ready.

"Alongside obviously the football side of it, it's about picking the right balance in the side.

"It's a long season ahead and we'll hopefully get the selection right and give ourselves the best chance of progressing into the next round."

We asked Wrexham AFC fans for their views on what the Red Dragons still need to do before the start of the new Championship season in just under two weeks' time.

Here are some of the replies.

Mick: We must focus on improving our defensive record from last season. It is great to see a highly rated right wing back as our first new signing. Now we need to prioritise a top-class keeper but keep hold of Arthur Okonkwo too. We also need a commanding centre half and a ball playing defensive midfielder. Not asking for much really!

Al: We must still add probably a new keeper, a centre back and a striker who can score 15 goals in a season.

Tim: Phil Parkinson seems desperate for a new goalkeeper, but I am not sure why. I don't think we need major surgery hopefully the likes of Lewis Brunt and Zak Vyner can step up and we stay relatively injury free. Last season, we were an unknown quantity, but teams will be savvier against us now.

Jon: I think the priority is a top-class defender as leaking goals was an issue last year. We also need more cover in wide areas due to injuries and Issa Kabore leaving. Maybe also a creative midfield player. Not sure if Parky would agree but in him we trust, right?

Derek: I am not a Wrexham fan, but I think that too many signings cause instability. Wrexham have a great manager, great owners, and a strong team. Just one or two good signings will sort it.

Paul: This transfer window must be an improvement on the January window. We had a massive opportunity there as some of the championship big boys were frankly awful. Wrexham must not get second season syndrome.

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Preston North End have accepted a bid from Wrexham for skipper Ben Whiteman BBC Radio Lancashire reports, after the midfielder told boss Paul Heckingbottom he had "played his last game" for the club.

Whiteman joined Preston North End from Doncaster Rovers in 2021 and has since gone on to play 224 games for the Lilywhites.

However, it looks like the 30-year-old will be departing Deepdale on a sour note.

"Ben knew there was a line I didn't want him to cross and unfortunately he has," Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire, external before the Welsh side made their bid.

"There's a valuation on him, I just hope for Ben's sake that Wrexham are willing to pay it otherwise he's put himself in a sticky situation.

"He's made his bed. I'm not bothered as long as I get another player."

Watch Heckingbottom's full thoughts on the saga below or listen on BBC Sounds here

Explore more Preston North End content on BBC Sounds

Sheffield Wednedsay are keen on Wrexham midfielder George Dobson with the Welsh side set to land Preston North End's Ben Whiteman after a training ground bust-up at Deepdale. (Darren Whitcoop), external

There is more of Monday's EFL gossip here.

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Wrexham were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Sunderland in their final pre-season friendly ahead of the new season.

Phil Parkinson's side signed off from their three match tour of the United States in Philadelphia, hometown of the club's co-owner Rob Mac.

Nordi Mukiele put Sunderland ahead on 33 minutes with a fine finish from close range after good build up play by Habib Diarra and Brian Brobbey.

Four minutes later Wales forward Nathan Broadhead netted from new signing Daniel Imray's cross but his effort was ruled offside.

Libby Cacace fired across the face of goal while Broadhead's glancing header was well gathered by keeper Anthony Patterson.

Wrexham are away to Championship rivals Middlesbrough in the first round of the EFL Cup on Friday evening.

The Red Dragons begin their league campaign on Friday, 17 August away to Welsh rivals Cardiff City, newly promoted to the Championship.

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Goalkeeper Danny Ward believes playing against Liverpool at Yankee Stadium is the latest illustration of how far Wrexham have come in recent seasons.

The Wales international had previously visited the iconic New York venue with Liverpool for a pre-season friendly against Manchester City in 2014.

Ward, 33, was between the sticks for hometown club Wrexham this time around as they were beaten 1-0 by Andoni Iraola's Liverpool.

"My last time here in this stadium was with Liverpool against Manchester City, so to be here, playing against Liverpool with Wrexham is a testament to how far the club has come in such a short space of time," he said.

"It's not the result that we wanted but there are plenty of positives, there was loads of good work out there and it holds us in good stead now.

"As a footballer, you want to play against the best and test yourself against someone who is at a level that you want to get to.

"That's ultimately where we want to get this club to. It was a good work out, we are disappointed not to win, pre-season or not, it's never nice to not win."

The defeat against the 2024-25 Premier League champions is Wrexham's only pre-season loss to date. They round off preparations for the new Championship season against Sunderland on Sunday.

Phil Parkinson's charges start their competitive campaign at Middlesbrough in the first round of the Carabao Cup on Friday, 7 August before getting their league season under way at Cardiff City on Monday, 17 August.

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Hollywood owners of Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds means one thing. Wrexham will spend money as they look to realise their dream of becoming a Premier League side.

On Wednesday evening, the Red Dragons announced their first summer signing as Danny Imray arrived from Crystal Palace.

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson has previously urged patience in what he describes as a "slow" summer but with one through the door now, Wrexham may have got the ball rolling.

So who follows him? Where else do Wrexham need to recruit?

Give us your views here.

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Phil Parkinson says Wrexham will take encouragement from their narrow 1-0 defeat to Liverpool, and insisted they still know where to improve.

Teenager Rio Ngumoha scored the only goal at Yankee Stadium in New York, while Wrexham went closest through Kieffer Moore late on.

Wales goalkeeper Danny Ward was forced to make early saves against his old club as Parkinson felt Wrexham were loose to start.

But the triple promotion-winning manager believes his side did enough to earn a draw against 2024-25 Premier League winners Liverpool.

"I thought we grew into the first half and had some really good moments ourselves," Parkinson told the club's website.

"In the second period, we had a spell where we couldn't get any control in the game at all for 10 minutes.

"Once we made the changes, we started to get some possession and looked threatening again.

"One straight pass, they broke on us, and a deflected goal has decided the game. We've had enough chances to get a goal and at least draw the game.

"It was a really good workout for us against some really talented players."

This defeat was Wrexham's first of pre-season, having previously beaten Leeds United and Manchester United, and drawn at Polish side Wisla Krakow.

"You play Man United, Leeds and Liverpool and you come away with a single-goal defeat as your worst result of the three," Parkinson added.

"You've got to say that's not a bad return in terms of results. In terms of performance, there were periods where we need to get better.

"It's just learning as a team. When we are under a bit of pressure, that's when we need to link the game and give ourselves a breather with the ball."

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Liverpool won their second pre-season fixture of the summer 1-0 against Wrexham in New York, with youngster Rio Ngumoha finding the net via a deflection.

Andoni Iroala's side have now won their opening two pre-season games, after the Reds beat Sunderland 4-2 in Nashville.

Speaking to club media, Iraola said his side "were more solid" than the Sunderland game and that his team played more as a "collective".

"Slowly, slowly I hope every game we are closer and closer," Iraola said.

"We start to add new bodies, because now we are playing with a lot of the young players."

Iroala named an inexperienced starting XI, with Dominik Szoboszlai captaining the side.

Liverpool face Leeds United next in Chicago on 2 August (21:00 BST) and Iraola expects Ryan Gravenberch, Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, and Jeremy Jacquet to gain their first pre-season minutes.

"We'll see how many minutes they can play, but we have to start slowly, slowly integrating more of the senior players that have had less training sessions," said Iraola.

"I think they should be ready on the weekend to have their first minutes."